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Another Connecticut Serviceman Dies In Afghanistan

Another American member of the military with ties to Connecticut has died in Afghanistan.

The Department of Defense says 35-year-old Sergeant 1st Class Daehan Park of Watertown died Saturday in Wardak province after his unit was attacked with a home-made bomb. He was a member of the 3rd Battalion, 1st Special Forces Group at Lewis-McChord Base in Washington State.

Governor Dannel Malloy ordered state and U.S. flags to fly at half staff until after his burial.

Park was a graduate of Watertown High School who enlisted in 1998. He took part in the Best Ranger Competition in 2002 and deployed to Afghanistan in 2003 as a Rifle Squad Leader.

It was his fourth deployment overseas, his first to Afghanistan.

Park was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart.

He is survived by his wife and daughters, who live in Washington, and by his mother and stepfather Joseph and Bonnie Schneider of Thomaston and his sister Katie Park and brother Saejin Park, both of Watertown.